Tomas Pietrangeli will replace Peter Gjørtz-Carlsen as head of Arla in the UK.
Arla has reorganised its global structure to be “more efficient and globally focussed”, allowing it to deliver on the expansion targets set out in its Good Growth Strategy 2020.
The changes will see the formation of a new global executive management team – including CEO Peder Tuborgh and vice-CEO Povl Krogsgaard – as well as restructuring that will allow the markets to strengthen their commercial and consumer focus.
The new structure will help create a simpler, more agile organisation, driving efficiencies through faster decision-making and execution in more globalised supporting functions such as supply chain, finance and HR. Arla will also develop more collaborative ways of working to reduce duplication across countries.
Its ambition is to increase the organic revenue growth rate from the 2% that has been delivered over recent years to at least 4% by 2020. The reorganisation would lead to the loss of around 500 roles across all markets and functions, the Danish dairy company confirmed.
Arla Foods UK executive vice president Peter Gjørtz-Carlsen, who joins Arla’s new executive management team, said: “This strategic reorganisation will allow our UK business to become more agile and responsive to the dynamic nature of the market. We have strengthened the UK business significantly in 2015 with the growth of our own label and branded volumes in all dairy categories, launched the Arla brand and driven cost efficiencies.
“We now need to take the next step, which will be to structure our business to capture the full benefits of our global scale. At the same time, we will become even more commercially focussed locally and deliver value to fuel our 2020 ambitions for our farmer owners and customers. It’s unfortunate that a number of roles will be impacted and we will work closely with our colleagues over the coming months to minimise the effect that these changes will have on our people.”
Gjørtz-Carlsen will hand over responsibility for Arla in the UK to Tomas Pietrangeli, who joined Arla Foods in 2014 as head of its Danish market.
Pietrangeli said: “I am delighted to take up such a prestigious role. As Arla’s largest market, the UK is a key part of our organisation with ambitious plans for the coming years. I’ll be focussing on championing our leadership role in the UK dairy industry as well as delivering the very best for our farmer owners, even during these challenging times.”
And Arla Foods CEO Peder Tuborgh added: “Arla has grown its business significantly in recent years both organically and through mergers. However, more milk is being produced globally, Europe is experiencing pressure on prices and very little growth, which means competition, is fierce.
“In addition, consumer needs are becoming more diverse and our customers expect increasing levels of service. Therefore, we need to be more agile and cost efficient to remain competitive. In order to remain at the very top of their preferred partners list, it will be necessary to change the ways we work.”
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